Inter Milan celebrates the 20th Scudetto in club history

The Stadio San Siro shone golden in the light of the night on Monday evening. All the lights in and around the large concrete bowl were on. In addition, fireworks illuminated the facades of the football stadium, which was built in its current form in 1990. The Inter fans sang until their voices broke.

The 20th championship title in the club’s history means a lot to the Nerazzurri. Because every title with a round number gives a star in Italian football. Juventus already has three of them. Inter overtakes city rivals AC Milan with the second star. “It’s great to have won the title in the derby. We worked hard for it, but this evening will always be remembered,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi. Captain Lautaro Martínez even had to stop a TV interview because of sheer tears of joy. Inter won the derby 2-1 and secured the title with five game days to go.

Sommer has only conceded 18 goals so far

Inter’s Scudetto is the triumph of a dominant team. The Nerazzurri are ahead in many statistics: Argentine world champion Martínez confidently leads the top scorers list with 23 goals. His French strike partner Thuram is the best provider with 11 assists. Swiss national goalie Yann Sommer didn’t concede a goal in 17 games; He only allowed 18 goals in the league. These are even best values ​​in the context of the five most important leagues in Europe. “Sometimes I’m frightened by these statistics myself,” said Sommer.

Last season, Sommer came to Milan as an emergency measure. He replaced Cameroonian Andre Onana, who was transferred to the Premier League for around 55 million euros. After initial mistakes, he quickly dispelled his doubts. And the discussions about his height of 1.83 meters, which is below average for goalies, soon died down. “There are no big or small goalies, there are only good and bad ones” is his motto.

Over the course of the season, the more critical Italian sports media eventually agreed with the verdict. After winning the championship title, the “Gazzetta dello Sport” particularly praised Sommer’s reliability and consistency. And his skills with his foot on the ball were also highlighted by everyone.

Coach Inzaghi wanted exactly such a goalie. He is an almost ideological advocate of building up from the back. He likes to pull his playmakers Nicolò Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu back behind the defender line. The last stop is summer. That’s risky. Over the course of the season, the Swiss has developed such composure when returning passes that even the most nervous fans can keep their eyes open in such situations and their pulse rate remains within the normal range.

The advantage of such a game idea? Inter’s playmakers have almost the entire pitch in front of them. Operating with a withdrawn playmaker was already the most important trick of Luciano Spalletti, the master coach of the previous season. Now Inzaghi has transferred the then Napoli coach’s method to Inter. However, he has refined it so that the free spaces in front of the playmakers are occupied by the central defenders.

Inzaghi relies on rotation – it pays off

Another characteristic of Inter is the consistent play from the outside positions, often combined with multiple changes of sides during an attack. This opens up a lot of space for the outside players. And up front, the strike duo Martínez and Thuram complement each other perfectly. While the fast Frenchman likes to rush into the space behind the defenders and then pass it to Martínez, the beefy Argentine cleverly claims the ball as the front passer and then triggers the second wave of attacks.

Inzaghi himself also went through a maturing process. From a coach who was initially deemed too green and lacking in merit for a top club like Inter, he transformed into a confident coach. “He finds the right approach for the team and is a good mix of a former professional and an older friend,” said manager Giuseppe Marotta.

Above all, Inzaghi abandoned his preference to play through a season with a regular formation. In his third year at Inter, he measured the load cleverly and occasionally put regular players on the bench. They took a break, especially in the games during the week.

The “Gazzetta dello Sport” therefore named Inzaghi the “master of rotation”. The result was that Inter dropped just four points in Serie A matches this season, which immediately followed Champions League appearances. Last year there were twelve by the time they reached the round of 16. The clever rotation was a decisive factor in the championship this year.

The future of the club is uncertain

The team still has room for improvement. Goalgetter Martínez needs to become even more accurate in important games. For example, he missed the decisive penalty in the round of 16 exit in the Champions League against Atlético Madrid. And in the derby on Monday he also missed a 100 percent chance when the score was 1-0.

It is unclear what will happen next with the Chinese owners. Back home, the Zhangs’ money is gradually running out. At the end of May, a loan of 275 million euros – with interest around 380 million euros – must be serviced. Otherwise the club will fall to the Oaktree investment fund. President Steven Zhang was not in Milan for the derby – which is seen as another indication of a possible farewell.

That would be fatal at this moment. In recent years, a foundation has been laid at Inter that could start a new era. However, the uncertainties on the ownership side recently made both the coach and the captain hesitant about signing a contract extension. The celebration of the 20th title is therefore also clouded by fears for the future.